Into The Darkness
by daywalkr82
Summary: While trying to save a load of hostages at the hospital where Mrs. Dr. P works, something happens to Ron. Now, Kim has to face the possibility of having to save her best friend from himself.
1. Ordinary Day

AN: Big thanks to CaptainKodak and Classic Cowboy for helping with this bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim, Ron, or any of the characters in this story, except for the ones I made up.

Into The Darkness

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable walked into Biology class hand in hand and the buoyant state of mind Ron had been in immediately dissappeared. Seeing the dissection plates placed at each lab table in the room reminded him of what he had been dreading since he woke up this morning: they were supposed to dissect frogs today. He had squirmed his way through the earthworm dissection, at least there was no blood or anything then, but he didn't know how he was going to make through this class without fainting.

"Aw, man, do we have to go through this again, KP? I ask you, when are we gonna need to know how to disembowel a frog in the real world?"

Kim smiled slightly before answering, "Ok, Ron, graphic much? It's just a frog; it's not like you're performing brain surgery. Just follow the instructions in the handout and you'll be fine."

"Yeah, but, it's not even the dissecting really; it's the blood and guts that are gonna be spewing out every which way." Ron said, zooming his fingers off in different directions.

Kim sighed exasperatedly, wondering how Ron, who had been in more battles than most people see in a lifetime, could be scared of a little blood and frog guts. "Tell you what, Ron," Kim started, looking at her best friend since Pre-K, "I'll slice, you direct, ok? You can even hold the instructions over the frog the whole time so you don't have to see any of the nasty stuff, all right?"

Ron considered this for all of two seconds before nodding, "Ok, KP, you got a deal."

Kim gave a sigh of relief, 'Another crisis averted.'

Mrs. Pearman walked in after everyone was seated. "All right, settle down everyone, and wipe those disgusted looks off your faces. I'm not terribly fond of this part of the curriculum either, but it's got to be done." She said resolutely as she pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. "Now, those who are carving will take your scalpel and make a half-inch incision along your frog's stomach. Those who are cringing will hide behind the instructions sheet unless you are feeling brave." She said jokingly. It was at this point that the silence of the lab/class was disrupted by a loud beeping noise. "I thought the school handbook was very clear on cell phones in the classroom." Mrs. Pearman said evenly.

"Sorry, Mrs. Pearman, it's the Kimmunicator." Kim said with a slight flush. She pulled out her personal communication device and hit the answer button as Ron leaned over to see what Wade had to say this time. Wade was a ten-year-old super genius and Team Possible's mission and gadget supplier. He was slightly fluffy owing to the fact that he preferred soda and fast food, and that he hardly ever left his room. As a matter of fact, now that Ron thought about it, the only time he had ever seen Wade in the flesh was after Team Impossible, a world-saving team for-hire, had fried his entire system. "Sitch it, Wade." Kim said to the small, blue-clad, African-American boy on the other end of the feed.

"Kim, got a red alert here. Shego and a group of flunkies are holding your mom and a load of other people hostage at Middleton General."

The initial look of fear on Kim's face was quickly replaced a look of extreme anger as she answered, "Got it, Wade. We're good as there, right, Ron?" Kim said, looking to her friend and partner.

"Right, KP." Ron said with a determined look on his face.

"Already got a ride set up with Mr. Hossley from Chris's Copters."

"You rock out loud, Wade," Ron gave a thumbs up to the tech boy. "Let's hit it, KP." Ron said with a look to his friend.

"Right. Mrs. Pearman, sorry about this, but you heard. It's my mom; I've got to go."

"I understand, Ms. Possible, but you will have to make up this class when you get back."

"Done deal. Thanks." Kim called as she ran out the door with Ron on her heels.

Bonnie Rockwaller just harrumphed as she watched Kim go. "I don't see why those losers get to skip out just because her mom can't take care of herself." She said irritably.

"That will be quite enough, Ms. Rockwaller." Mrs. Pearman said sternly before turning back to her instruction book. "As for the rest of you, we've got a long way to go so swallow your disgust and get back to work."


	2. Not So Ordinary Mission

AN: thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. This chapter's rated M for language and a bit of blood.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story except for the ones I made up.

Into The Darkness

Chapter 2

Kim sat strapped into her seat on the small, 4-person chopper. Her thoughts were only on her mother's safety and the number of ways she could inflict pain on Shego before it could be considered sadistic. Ron sat next to her, trying to reassure her that everything would be ok. She knew he was talking, but didn't care at the moment.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Hossley." Kim said, trying to keep her mind from the thoughts of what her most dangerous foe could be doing at this moment.

"No problem, Miss Possible. Least I can do to apologize after you almost got killed last time you used one of my choppers."

"So not the drama. It was cake to get into the pilot's seat from outside and yank the cord on Drakken's control box. Simple matter to land after that. It was one his better attempts though."

At that moment, the Kimmunicator beeped.

"Go, Wade."

"Kim, got the specs on your mom's captors. There are only ten of them, not including Shego. They're spaced out along strategic points in the ER. Weapon signatures indicate MP5KA4s, Belgian P90s, and the ever popular Uzi, but there's something weird as well."

"What is it?"

"Well, thermo-induction scans show your opponents all have body temps in the 40's and 50's. It's like there's no body heat at all."

"What do you mean there's no body heat, Wade? Every person alive has body heat." Kim said with a confused look on her face.

"Unless they're not alive, KP." Ron interjected, a look of fear crossing his features. "They might be zombies… or vampires." Ron stated, now looking very scared at the prospect of facing undead creatures.

Kim merely scoffed at this notion. "Ron, I think you need to lay off the 'Zombie Madness' games for a while." She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice before turning back to the Kimmunicator. "Thanks for update, Wade. Kim out." The screen clicked off and she pocketed the PDA-like device. 'Vampires, please.' She thought incredulously as she turned and looked out the windshield, seeing Middleton General Hospital rise over the horizon. "Our stop's coming up, Ron; get ready." Kim said, unbuckling her full-body seatbelt and slipping on a parachute.

A few minutes later on the hospital roof…

"I'm serious, Kim. No body heat? What else could it mean besides an army of undead?" Ron reasoned. Kim had to admit that she was stumped on that one.

"I don't know, Ron, but we don't have time to worry about that right now." She stated flatly. "Right now, all I'm worried about is getting inside and making sure my mom and the others are safe. Now, be quiet and stay alert." She said as she removed a grating from an air duct and slipped inside. Ron followed immediately. A few minutes later, they were prowling through the third floor, looking for a way down to the second. It had been very quiet since they landed and it was just a bit unnerving. 'I suppose with only a handful of henchman, Shego can't afford to have patrols on this floor.' Kim thought, trying to keep her mind occupied. Ron pointed out an elevator, but Kim shook her head. "That's exactly what we need, Ron, to announce our presence to Shego's goons."

"Listen before you criticize, KP." Ron said more than a little curtly. "We call the elevator, and then get on top of it before it stops again."

"Then they would probably think that someone had pressed it by accident or something." Kim's face broke into a grin. "Where'd you come up with that, Ron?"

"Saw it on _Batman Forever_ last night." Ron said with a smirk as they went to set his plan into action.

One level down, the two posted guards stood looking bored as they heard the elevator ding its way down to their floor. They turned around, readying their weapons to ventilate whoever was inside. They never got the chance. One swift sword stroke and the two guards dropped where they stood.

Kim and Ron waited for the telltale sign of footsteps into the elevator, but they never came. Ron poked his head out of the trap door in the elevator's ceiling to see absolutely nothing but a couple of dust piles.

"It's alright, KP." Ron said as he dropped silently to floor and opened the elevator door again. They walked out, checking for other guards that might have been drawn to the sound of the elevator's bell.

"Why would there be two big piles of dust in front of the elevator?" Kim wondered out loud.

"Search me, Kim." Ron said, equally puzzled.

"It doesn't matter. We've got to get to mom and the others. Let's move." Kim ordered, slipping back into mission mode.

"What's Drew sent you after this time, Shego?" Mrs. Dr. Possible inquired, looking up at her pale, plasma powered captor. "There's nothing in this hospital that would be of use to him."

"I swear, death wishes must run in the Possible Family," Shego said menacingly. "Kind of like obliviousness. For one thing, I dropped Drakken like a bag of dirty laundry six months ago. For another, why do I always come back? You're a smart woman, Dr. Possible; you must be able to figure that much out at least." Shego grinned contemptuously.

"You want another shot at Kimmie." Dr. Possible said matter-of-factly.

"Ding, ding, ding! What do we have for her, Johnny?"

"You must be a glutton for punishment, Shego, to keep coming back time after time, only to be beaten down time after time by Kimmie-cub."

"You're probably right, Dr. Possible." Shego said as grin big enough to show her canines split her face.

As their exchange ended, Kim and Ron burst into the OR. "Shego, you stubborn bitch, let my mom go right now."

"Such language in front of the maternal figure, Kimmie. You were raised better than that." Shego said with a big, shit-eating grin on her face. "And what about the other hostages? You wouldn't let them die, would you?"

"Don't be thick, Shego." Kim spat, "You know what I meant."

"And you know that words aren't the way to get what you want in this world. Especially with me. You have to fight for what you want." Shego said sagely.

"Then let's hurry up and get this over with." Kim said, taking her stance, "Ron, get the hostages to safety."

"Will do, KP."

"And now that the pleasantries have been taken care of…" Shego said before lunging at Kim, who caught her by the wrists, rolled onto her back, and tossed Shego through the swinging doors and out into the hall, leaving Ron to deal with the two remaining thugs.

"Now, guys I'm sure there's a way to settle this reasonably…" Ron stopped short, having to leapfrog over one of the henchmen, who had just tried to spear him. "…and peacefully." Ron finished after he regained his balance. "Guess not."

"Be careful, Ron." Mrs. Dr. Possible warned, still struggling with her bonds.

"Not to worry, Mrs. Dr. P, I'll have you guys out of here before you can say 'Naco Night at Bueno Nacho'." Ron reassured her before taking a defensive stance against the henchman.

Kim had dodged several strings of attacks, many severe enough to separate her head from her shoulders, without being able to land a decent blow herself. She dodged another fire filled punch, parried a kick to her ribs, and said: "You don't know when to quit, Shego," before throwing a kick to Shego's midsection, which was easily parried.

"Neither do you," Shego retorted as she threw a left then a right, both of which Kim caught before headbutting her long-time adversary.

"Got that right," Kim said triumphantly, looking down at the dazed, emerald clad villainess.

"You may not know when to quit, but I'm going to teach you, starting right now." Shego stated as she flew up, hands aflame, and grabbed Kim's chest.

_How do I…_

_Get through one night without you_

Kim would've been shocked and embarrassed if she hadn't already been focusing on the weightlessness she felt as she flew through the air. She landed on the reception desk and fell to the floor, dazed and in an extraordinary amount of pain. What had Shego done to her? It felt like a surge of electricity had passed through her body.

_If I had to live without you…_

_What kind of life would that be?_

Kim tried to get up because she knew Shego wouldn't give her a time-out, but all she could do was drag herself over against a nearby wall. Through the spots in her vision, she could make out the familiar green and black outfit. It was coming closer.

_Oh, and I… I need you in my arms, need you to hold_

_You're my world, my heart, my soul_

_If you ever leave_

_Baby, you would take away everything good in my life_

"I'm really gonna enjoy this now." Shego said breathily into Kim's ear so there could be no mistake. Shego leaned down and licked Kim's neck like she was going to kiss it. As she moved in, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her head. Someone was pulling her hair.

_Without you…there'd be no sun in my sky_

_There would be no love in my life_

_There'd be no one left for me_

"I'm pretty sure KP doesn't swing that way, Shego." Ron said smartly as he yanked on the mass of raven-black hair, pulling Shego away from Kim.

"Ron!" Kim called out relieved.

"Be with you in a sec, KP." Ron said as he turned Shego around and delivered one well placed kick to the small of her back, sending the plasma-powered villainess crashing against a shelf of supplies. Ron then bent down to check over Kim's injuries. "Can you move at all, Kim?" Ron asked as he helped her sit upright.

"Yeah, it's getting better, Ron. I think it was some temporary paralysis so Shego could do whatever she was going to do."

_And I…baby, I don't know what I would do_

"You mean something like this, Princess?" Shego appeared from behind Ron, holding his neck. "Ah, ah, ah, one false move and the sidekick gets a pretty, new harp." Shego said as Kim tried to move to stop her.

_I'd be lost if I lost you_

"SHEGO! PUT THE BOY DOWN!" A new voice called from down the corridor. Though the spots were gone, Kim's vision was still slightly blurry, but she could see a great, black form striding purposefully down the corridor. Her vision cleared more and she could tell the figure was actually a tall, black man decked out in black leather with a veritable arsenal under his long trenchcoat. Behind him were two others: a tall Caucasian man with a full beard, dressed in a caramel-colored leather jacket, white t-shirt and black pants, carrying a very large, three-barreled shotgun, and a short, sinewy, brunette woman in a tank top and jeans, carrying a complicated looking longbow.

_If you ever leave… baby, you would take away everything real in my life_

Shego looked very distraught at the three people coming down the hallway at her.

"Shit, goddamn Nightstalkers ruin all my fun." She said in a very angry tone. "At least I get one swell consolation prize." Shego said very evilly as she turned around to face Kim, who had managed to get to her feet by this time, but was still holding on to the wall for support. "Watch this, Kimmie. My gift to you for so many interesting battles." Shego stated before she sunk her teeth into Ron's neck.

_And tell me now_

_How do I live without you?_

_I want to know_

Ron screamed as he felt Shego's fangs break his skin and begin drawing blood.

"RON! NOOOOO!" Kim screamed as she tried to get to him, save him, do something, anything but stand there and watch. The man in black and his partners broke into a run, and upon seeing this, Shego pulled her blood soaked fangs out of Ron's neck with blood still spurting out of the puncture wounds, blew a kiss to Kim, and said: "Later, Princess; thanks for the meal. BTW, he's coming with me. He's still good for a couple of pints." With that, Shego turned tail and ran, jumping through a window and down onto the ground below.

_How do I breathe without you?_

_If you ever go_

The man in black ran past, yelling for the other two to take care of Kim, who was, by now, back on the floor with tears filling her eyes. "Ron…" was all she would say, over and over again.

_How do I ever, ever survive?_

_How do I, how do I, _

_Oh, how do I live?_


	3. Remembrances and Missions

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed. Special Thanks to Captain Kodak for help with the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in the story except for the ones I make up.

Into The Darkness

Chapter 3

Kim Possible, teen hero and world saver extraordinaire, sat in front of the gigantic 64" TV, watching a security video from one of her earlier battles. On screen, a man with hair the color of corn silk and skin the shade of Liquid Paper threw a roundhouse kick at her head. She dodged and tried to sweep his legs out from under him. He hopped and said something inaudible, but Kim didn't need to hear it on screen to know what he said. She had been going over the battle and her opponent's snappy patter in her head nonstop for the last few hours. It had become a routine for Kim lately: examine every new kicking of her ass afterwards to find some opening, some flaw, some hint of the person she used to know and love. It had hit her very hard, Ron's death, even more so when it finally dawned on her that he wouldn't be with her anymore. Never again would she hear his goofy laugh, see his unwavering smile or his cocoa eyes that she loved to get lost in. It seemed that it had taken forever for her to come to grips just with that hard fact of life. Or unlife as the case may be. Kim sat back against the leg of the couch, letting her mind drift back to those first few hours after Shego's escape from the hospital. Her eyes closed and she could almost hear their voices.

"_Is she going to be all right?" A young woman's voice asked. Kim turned her head up to look for the source of the sound, tears still shimmering in her eyes._

"_She's just in shock; give her a little bit." A young male voice answered._

"_She doesn't have a little bit." Another voice, deeper, more gruff, spoke up. "She's been exposed to them. You both know what that means." He said with an air of slight annoyance as if he had been through this absurd sitch numerous times before. "Get her on her feet, we gotta go." The gruff voice stated with finality._

"_Where am I? Who are you people? What happened to Shego and Ron?" Kim started rapid firing questions as soon as she came out of her panic induced lethargy._

"_I think I liked her better when she was in shock." The young man's voice came from her left. She looked and saw the shotgun wielding Caucasian man from before. Opposite him was 'longbow girl'. She was walking over to Kim._

"_Are you alright now? You seemed to really take it hard." The young woman asked, dabbing Kim's bruises with rubbing alcohol._

"_I'm fine. What happened to Shego? Why'd she bite Ron? Who are…" _

"_I think you'd do better to listen and not talk for a bit." The same gruff voice said. Out of the shadows came the black man from before. He looked exactly as he had except he had doffed his cape-like trenchcoat. "What happened to your friend was unfortunate…" he started, watching Kim's bloodshot eyes fill with tears again. "But he is gone now and you had best bury anything you felt deep inside because when you see him again, he won't give you luxury of falling to pieces. He'll be expecting that; he'll use that to his advantage."_

"_What are you talking about?" Kim asked in bewilderment. "You make it sound like Ron's going to attack me or something."_

"_Ron might not," the woman said after she had finished bandaging Kim's wounds, "but the demon who now wears his face will not think twice about it."_

"_Demon? What are you..." Kim started again, but before she could finish, the black man interrupted, obviously upset over Kim failure to grasp the point of the conversation. _

"_Get this straight!" he said, almost shouting as he grabbed the arms of the chair Kim was in. "Your boyfriend is dead and in a few hours he'll be a blood-drinking, garlic-hating suck head, a vampire! Is that clear enough for you?" _

_Kim sputtered for a few minutes, running over what Ron had said about vampires right before they entered the hospital. "So everything in the movies and books is real?" she finally got out. _

_Now the bearded Caucasian man stood up and started to speak. "Forget what you've seen in movies and books. What Bram Stoker wrote back in 1897 is just a comforting fairy tale compared to the real thing. Through all the layers of bullshit though, there does lay some truth. Vampires are extremely allergic to silver. Feed 'em garlic and they go into anaphylactic shock. Then, of course, there's always sunlight. By the way, my name's Hannibal King. The young lady is Abigail Whistler. Mr. Ray of Sunshine over there, that's Blade."_

"_Shego called you something else. 'Nightstalkers', I think." Kim said, now looking around, very impressed and interested in everything she could lay eyes on._

"_Yeah, that's our group's little nickname." King's voice then adopted a much more solemn tone. "There used to be more of us, but…" King's voice broke, and Abigail continued for him. "We had a little tussle with Dracula, and a lot of good people were killed."_

_At the mention of Dracula's name, Kim's head whipped around. "Dracula? You mean THE Dracula?"_

_Abby did not meet Kim's gaze. "Yeah. Although, he went by Drake then."_

"_What happened? Is he still around? Did he tell Shego to take Ron? I swear I wouldn't be surprised…" Before Kim could get any further with her theories, Blade stopped her. _

"_He's dead. Suffice to say that we thought we had killed all of them with Daystar, the chemical we used to take them out; it used Drake's undiluted blood to kill all suckheads in the vicinity. Apparently, we didn't get all of them." _

"_I want to help. I want to fight." Kim said with renewed fire as she stood up from her seat._

"_No." Abby and King said at the same time. "Right now, you're such a mess; you could go three rounds with a fruit fly." King continued. If he hadn't sounded so serious, Kim would've thought he was joking. "You're upset over Ron. You're mad and looking for someone to take it out on."_

_Then Abby spoke up, "That's just the angle Shego is looking for. She's expecting you to come around thrashing every punk and hustler, looking for info on where she is so she can take you out while you're still in shock."_

"_I don't care. I want to help. You guys can train me. Teach me to bury all that stuff and keep me focused on finding Ron."_

"_It's still too dangerous." Blade said with finality. "You may have fought your fair share of freaks, but you're not ready to roll with this."_

It had taken several hours, but Kim, with help from Abby and King, had finally worn down Blade's defenses and gotten him to accept her as a Nightstalker-in-training. The martial arts training was nothing new to Kim, with the exception of learning to strike to kill. _"Mind your surroundings." _Blade would often say as Kim was usually taken by surprise by him in their training sessions. He also kept reiterating on _"doing what is necessary when the time comes."_ Kim was still unsure on this point. She had often brought up the numerous times she had diffused sitches without killing or violence, but Blade and even Abby and King would remind her that vampires would not listen to reason or bargaining. They considered themselves above humanity, and as such, bargaining and appeals to better nature usually only brought an even quicker death to their prey. But Kim was resolute. When push came to shove in her looming fight against Ron and Shego, she would not become a killer. She saw how well that mindset worked after her first fight with Ron. It had been on the roof of the Middleton Museum of Natural History and he had been every bit as cunning, ruthless, and non-chalant as they had said. She had only survived through a gap in Ron's defenses as he bent to bite. That and a gap in his trousers which allowed her to deliver a full-force kick to his groin with no buffeting or cushioning of the blow. After he had recovered, which was too fast for Kim's tastes, he made some snide remark about her playing too rough and then jumped off the roof, ancient manuscript in tow. Kim asked Wade to send a ride to take her home. She didn't trust herself to walk home now after dark, at least not in this condition. It had been shortly after her second fight with Ron that Kim had taken to combing through security tapes when possible to find some hole in his defense as well as some remnant of the Ron she knew. Now with five losses under her belt, and progressively worse injuries every time, Kim was trying to push everything away, family, friends, even her new "co-workers" so she could focus on finding him and… killing him.

The Kimmunicator's familiar ring broke her from her thoughts. "What's the sitch, Wade?" She said in a somber voice that seemed hardly at home on her features.

"Got a new hit on the site. Apparently, Shego has something to say."

Kim fought back bitter hatred and said in an even tone, "Put her through, please, Wade."

On the small screen, there appeared the leering, pale-skinned face of Shego. She was obviously bursting to say something. "How are you, Princess? Feeling any better since last time?" She grinned widely at this memory.

"Get to the point, Shego!" Kim growled.

"Tut, tut, tut, what have I told you about that temper, Kimmie? Especially when talking to an elder. Anyway, I was just wondering if you still wanted your little boy-toy back." Kim's face hardened visibly as she watched Shego file her nails without taking off her gloves. "Cause if you do, I might just know how." Shego's grin widened impossibly as she saw Kim's features soften slightly. "That is, if you still care. I mean, you haven't found anyone else, have you?" Kim went red in the face at this. She hadn't spoken to hardly anyone in the last few weeks as she had been so focused on finding Ron and 'doing what was necessary.' "If you want to know, get tech boy to track Ronnie's chip. Until then, Princess." With that, Shego blew a kiss and cut the connection.

"Get me the location, Wade." Kim said with an air of 'don't argue, just do it.' to her voice.

"Ok, Kim, but what about the rest of Shego's message." Wade said even as he typed.

Kim looked puzzled for a minute. What was Wade talking about? "What rest of the message, Wade?"

"The part that says PS: This is a trap." Wade said, looking quite worried and more than a little scared at the look in Kim's eyes.

"I can't worry about that now, Wade. Even if it is a trap, Shego may be a lot of things, but she keeps her word."

"Got it. Abandoned factory at city limits. Already got your ride set up. I don't have to tell you to be careful, but be careful just the same."

Kim smiled at her long time friend. "I'll do my best, Wade. And just because I don't say it enough, you really do rock. Later." She switched off the Kimmunicator and set a neutral look on her face. Again, as was procedure nowadays, she had her mission clothes and vamp fighting gear ready at a moment's notice. She ran out the back door without a word to anyone. Mrs. Dr. Possible could hear "I'm coming, Ron." as her daughter left. A single tear rolled down her face.


	4. Rescue Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible or any other characters in here. I do own this story.

Into the Darkness

Chapter 4

Kim raced outside, hopping fences and hedges as she made her way out to the street. No other thought had entered her head except to get to Ron and end it. She didn't even notice when a large, black SUV pulled alongside her. A man reached out and grabbed her off the street, keeping his hand over her mouth to stifle her screams.

Amidst her struggling, she recognized the two figures in the front seats. It was Abby and… Wade. Kim stopped struggling, signaling to King that it was safe to let go.

"Wade, what are you doing here?" Kim asked as she situated herself.

"Making sure you don't pull something stupid and get yourself killed." Wade replied in a harsh tone. Kim shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not looking at anyone, while Abby pulled off to the side of the road. "Now," Wade said as he turned in his seat, "what do you think you were doing, just running off like that? You didn't even ask for a ride or anything!"

"I was trying to…" Kim started, but was cut off by Blade.

"You were trying to go off on your own, kill Shego, and then try to save Ron. What you would've ended up doing is getting yourself into a lot of trouble, and then we'd have found you dead or worse two days later."

Now, Abigail spoke up, "What you need to remember is you aren't alone in this. We're all here to help. Plus, as a bonus, Wade thinks he's found a sort of cure for Ron." Kim's face lit up at the mention of this and she looked to her longtime friend. She had long since given up any hope of bringing Ron back to his old, goofy self.

"It's not so much a cure, per se. It's actually a Romanian curse that gives a demon a soul. The only problem is we need something to hold the soul when we summon it. There's only one thing I could find in my searches: an Orb of Thessulah."

"Do you think that this curse could be the cure Shego was talking about, Wade?"

"Well, Kim, it's entirely possible. At least, I couldn't find any other sources to suggest that it could be anything else." Assured that Kim would be ok now, Abby started driving again.

"Ok, we'll worry about whether it's the same as Shego's later," Kim stated authoritatively, shifting into full-on mission mode. "All right, prep time. If anything can be said about Shego, she keeps her word, but even so, she won't make it easy for us to get to her. I'm thinking an ambush is likely."

"Because when do suck-heads play fair?" King queried with a smirk.

"I've got something that might be useful for general ashings; you can even use it to keep Ron tied up until we can get him secured, Kim." Wade mentioned, slipping into his tech-boy persona. Kim gave the boy genius a dirty look, as if to say that she didn't want to hurt Ron if she could help it. "Calm down, Kim, this won't kill him if you have it set to the right kind of ammo. Also, you have to remember that he's still a vampire, even though…"

"he looks like my Ron, I remember, Wade." Kim finished his sentence. "So what's so special about this thing? It looks like that giant three-barreled shotgun King is always working on."

Wade's face broke into the smile he always wore when explaining a piece of new technology. "It's a modified version of the Bonejack. Instead of one kind of ammo, I've made it able to fire three different kinds, one for each barrel. I've got it loaded with silver stakes and hollow points with garlic extract or silver nitrate. I rather like the silver nitrate; it always makes for a nice, slow death." Wade said with a macabre grin, which scared Kim just a little.

"You're a freaky little devil, aren't you, Wade," Kim said, trying to sound more amused than she was.

"I like to think of it as so smart, it's scary." Wade answered back, smirking. "Also, I made this special toy to keep Ron at bay until we can work out the specifics of the curse." He held up a small, black device with small hinges on either side. "It's an explosive device filled with silver nitrate, designed to go off if anyone tampers with it."

He tossed it to Kim, "Use it when you've got him on his back; I'm sure you know how to do that." Wade said, wiggling his eyebrows and making Kim blush the color of her hair.

"What's our point of entry?" Blade asked, bringing the conversation back to their "battle plan".

"The most obvious is the front door, but they'll be expecting that." Wade replied.

"Unless," King started, "we split up. We can make a diversion for Kim, so she can get straight to Shego and Ron."

"Sounds like a plan," Wade assented, "I can even have the Holo-Kim follow you in for more believability."

"We'll be there soon; everyone should start getting ready," Blade said in his usual monotone voice. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, everyone doing what they needed to prepare. Kim sat inches from friends, yet she was miles away. She was once again immersed in memories from what seemed like a different life. She remembered both visits to Wannaweep and how Ron had shown ingenuity and bravery both times; granted, she wasn't huge on the giant beaver he'd become the second time. She remembered how he had risked so much during that date with Josh, and when she had been in library lock-up, he had faced his monkey phobia again to get her out; he had also gone crazy when he had those Naco royalties, when she had made him get that new hairstyle, and even worse, when he had gone evil. Zorpox was a walk in the park, though, compared to what he had become now. She remembered how he had been much better at being evil than Drakken, but then again, almost anyone could be better at being evil than Drakken. Ron had commanded fear and respect from Shego, something Drakken had never been able to accomplish. Now, she, Kim, was riding to capture Ron, if not kill him.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Abby. They had arrived.

"Right, so we're all clear on the plan?" Wade confirmed. Everyone nodded. "Go to it, then," he said, activating the hologram.

"Last one in has to kiss Shego," King called out, sending Abby following after him. Blade shook his head, said something that sounded like "rookies," and followed after them. Kim started to move in, but Wade stopped her for just a second.

"Just remember, if it comes to it, you might have to do the unthinkable; I hope not, especially now that we might have a chance to "save" him, but it's still a possibility." Kim just turned and walked away.

As she touched down on the roof, Kim thought again about the possibility of this whole "cure sitch" being a trap-trap. She had told everyone that Shego would keep her word, but she was trying to convince herself of that as much as them. 'Honor among thieves', Kim thought as she hit the button to collapse the jetpack.Opening the skylight, she heard the sounds of battle from near the front of the warehouse. Everyone was engaged; she was sure there were some very confused blood-suckers down there jumping through her hologram. She laughed dryly at the thought, before moving back to the task at hand. Moving along the railing as quietly as she could, she tried to catch a glimpse of her prey, but they were hidden from view. Down the stairs she moved, expecting attackers to come from any dark corner. The modified shotgun weighed heavily on her back; she still wasn't completely proficient with firearms, although a lot of on-the-job practice had helped steady her aim greatly. Finally, she reached the ground floor, looking around for any sign of Shego or Ron. She suddenly felt something pull at her back. Twisting around, she came face-to-face with her jade-skinned nemesis pointing the big shotgun right at her midsection.

"Little girls shouldn't play with such big guns, Kimmie. You might put someone's eye out." Shego drawled snidely as she lifted up the modified firearm for inspection. "Let's see here. Faint trace of garlic on the chamber," she shook the weapon with one ear pressed close, "liquid silver inside as well," she spoke as she side stepped Kim's leap towards her, and then turned around. "Am I right in thinking you've got regular silver bullets in there as well?" Kim just stood there stone-faced. "Well, well, well, ol' Wade sure has outdone himself this time; it's such a pity you won't get to use it." With that, Shego broke the Bonejack II over her leg, spilling its contents all over her leg. "Now that's taken care of, we can start having fun," the villainess said as she started throwing bolt after bolt of plasma at her arch-foe. Kim cartwheeled and somersaulted out of the way, looking around for something to level the playing field. Spying a pair of crowbars, she grabbed them and jumped towards Shego's position. Or at least where she was two seconds ago. Kim rolled with the landing to get her bearings on where her opponent was. In a split second, she swung behind her, landing a glancing blow to Shego's side. "Is that the best you can do, princess? No wonder you've been getting your ass handed to you for the last six months." Kim swung hard overhead with both crowbars. Shego caught them with both hands glowing, melting the makeshift weapons into nothing useful. She then grabbed Kim, spun her around by one leg and one arm, and said in a playful voice, "Around and around little Kimmie goes, where she stops, Ronnie sure knows." Kim landed hard on the rough concrete, picking herself up only to face her ex-best friend.

"Ready for round two, KP?" he said in a dangerous voice before sending her flying from a double-fisted sledgehammer punch. The force from Ron's punch was such that she hit the ceiling, denting it, before she was caught in the lumbar plexus by Ron's elbow. Once again, Kim found herself eating asphalt. This time, she was picked by her hair, a migraine joining the rest of her aches and pains, as she was supported by arms that she recognized but felt alien to her. Soft fingers lifted her chin upright before becoming a menacing grip which threatened her windpipe. "Give it up, come on, KP, just give up," a voice said. "It'll be quick; it might even be painless," Ron intoned gently. Kim started shuddering, although, she wasn't sure if it was from internal bleeding or from being so close to Ron. She had, of course, dreamt of this for so many nights since her Nightstalker training had started, but it hadn't been quite like this; she forced herself to focus on the current sitch: her help was indisposed, she couldn't land a hit on either Ron or Shego, her major weapon lay in pieces, her only other was of no use, and she was effectively at Ron's mercy. Part of her wanted to do what he said; it was obvious that she couldn't lay a finger on them, but a different part of her said she couldn't just lie down and die. That wasn't Kim Possible's way. However, she couldn't see an opening to exploit. At this point, Ron had leaned in to bite. She felt his hot breath on her neck and braced herself for the pain she knew was only moments away… it never came. Something was wrong; Ron shook his head to clear it, but he couldn't get his senses back. The smell of Kim's hair had done something, awakened something inside him. Kim took her opportunity and smashed Ron's forehead with the back of her head. He stumbled back, still reeling from whatever it was that had happened to him, although she couldn't imagine what that could be.

"What the hell happened, Stoppable? Get your head in the game and finish Possible off, NOW!" Shego screamed at her disoriented sidekick. When he didn't make any show of responding, she took matters in her own hands, which were now burning at near-nuclear proportions. However, before she could take more than a few steps forward, she was tackled from behind by King. "Ohhhh, my God, will you never get tired of me kicking your ass, King?" she said in laughing frustration.

"Remember who has who pinned, Sheila, darling," he said with a smirk as he slammed a silver stake through her left hand. She screamed out in pain and told King a number of things she would do to him once she got out of this predicament. "Ohh, promises, promises," he told her as he shoved another stake through her other hand. More screams, more promises to eviscerate every inch of skin from his body. "Now, promise you'll stay right there," he told her and blew her a kiss. "Come on, Kim, pin your BF and let's get out of here."

"Yeah… yeah, I'm on it," Kim said in a disconnected voice. She moved around behind Ron and jammed the device's prongs into the back of his neck. At this, he seemed to snap out of his funk.

"What… happened?" he asked in broken speech. His answer was a gun barrel shoved in his face.

"Twitch an eyebrow, and you're dust." King said evenly. "Let's go."

Needless to say, the trip back to headquarters was spent in silence.

A/N: Major props to Spectre666 for helping me break my writer's block. BTW, your lumbar plexus is in your lower back. 


End file.
